Laura's Story

Notes from the Test Kitchen:
OHHHH MY GOODNESS!! This dish is fabulous! Laura was right when she said she did good!!!

The meat and bean mixture inside the pasta was perfect, and the creamy cheese and sour cream was the ideal touch on top. (If you don't like black olives and green onions you could easily leave that off.)

I served this with corn but as an afterthought, though Spanish rice would also be great with this. It smells great, looks great and makes a lot, too - perfect for a large get-together!

Mix raw ground beef with taco seasoning, 1 cup of cheese and 1 can refried black beans. Using the uncooked manicotti shells, stuff the meat mixture into the shells and place in a large baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour the jar of picante over the stuffed shells then pour on the 2 cups of warm water. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. When shells are done and dish is bubbly top with sour cream, reserved cheese and olives. Put back in oven for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with green onions.

296 Comments

Leanne Maciasluvs2pardyNov 24, 2014Hi Laura :) Yes we did & I look 4ward to trying it again sometime. The 1st time I try a recipe I usually try & follow it to the tee, jus to see how we actually like it, then tweak it frm there. Thnx for the input.

Have a wonderful wk & Thanksgiving!

Laura Yoderlkyoder34Nov 19, 2014Leanne, I found that filling the shells is much easier by pushing (gently) the shells into the meat mixture too. When one end fills, just turn the shell around and fill the other end using the same method. So glad that y'all enjoyed it. The best thing about this recipe is that you can do anything you want to it to suit your family's taste. I rarely follow a recipe to the letter because I love adding my own twist and tweek. And this is one of those recipes where you just can't mess up.

Leanne Maciasluvs2pardyNov 16, 2014Came out vry good. Family luv'd it. Hubby's only comment was that he thought the filling needed more flavor/seasoning. I seasoned w/ cumin, paprika, pepper, granulated garlic, a lil kosher salt & mexican oregano, threw in most of the can of diced chile & some dried onion. I only eyeballed everything so I guess it wasn't enuff, nxt time, if I remember, I will measure/weigh the seasonings to equal a pkts' worth. The jar of salsa I used wasn't spicy enuff for us either, so will have to go spicier nxt time. I luv'd how the sour crm comes out aftr its baked, almost like ricotta :)

I used the butter knife method that u suggested Laura but found this to be the most time consuming prt (but I suppose those of u who make these kind of dishes often, already kno that), took me about an hr, other than that, the recipe is really simple and ez to follow. I fit all the shells frm the pkg in an 8x8 baking pan, so only needed 1 1/2 c water. As I read frm others, there was still plenty (almost 1/2!) of filling lft, so was glad to read that it freezes well. Saved it for another time or mayb will incorporate it in2 another dish.

Oh & I've gotta helpful tip for every1. Hubby watched me a lil & saw how awkward & time consuming stuffing the shells was, so he suggested this: pile the filling thats in ur bowl, by putting as much as possible to 1 side of it, take the empty shell & push down in2 it, keep repeating 'til it is as full as u can get it. We got 'em more then 1/2 way, sumtimes as much as 3/4's, full! It truly helped fill the shells faster. Sumtimes my husband can be a genius ;-)